Disclaimer: The ideas and concepts used in BLEACH belong to Tite Kubo, as well as any regular characters. Most of the characters in this story belong to me. Thank you.
"Is that so?" Norbel said. "That's quite a troublesome story."
"Yeah" Hoji said. "It's been one thing after another..." As hard as Hoji wanted to try, the promise of booze was to great for him to properly fight against. After only a few lackluster swings earlier, Hoji decided to ignore the nagging in his head and drink until there wasn't any temptation anymore. "You got any meat to eat this with?"
"Meat and wine don't mix" Norrbel said, "but if you insist then I shall fetch it." Norbel got up and left for a moment, reappearing instantly through the trees with a plate of cooked meat. Hoji stared at him analytically as he set the tray down and sat back in his dignified seat across from Hoji. "...what?"
"You sword's in its sheathe" Hoji noted "but you moved through that forest instantly. Like time didn't exist to you..." Norbel just nodded and sipped from his glass, acting profoundly ignorant of his enemy's intentions. "This forest is rigged with some weird magic, ain't it?"
"'Ain't' is not a word" Norbel patronized. "You're correct, though. I can see that you have quite the grasp on kido and other forms of spiritual magics."
"Indeed" Hoji said, his attempt at being equally sophisticated with meat sloppily stuffed into his face. "It won't help you that much, though. I'm a real monster when it comes to fighting."
"I'm quite sure" Norbel humored.
"You're not afraid?" Hoji asked. His enemy just sipped more wine. "I've killed men like you before."
"Oh?" Norbel grunted. "Do tell."
"you're pretty full of yourself" Hoji said, "although not without good reason, I'm sure. You're strong enough, that's sure, but ego isn't always such a great thing."
"Well" Norbel began, "you seem fairly arrogant as well. Insulting me as you drink my own wine is quite the hubris-driven thing to do, methinks." Hoji finished the last of the meat and sake, then leaned back and glared Norbel down as he continued. "There's no real way to predict how this fight will play out. If you do manage to see around my magic and other so called trickery, feel free to exploit it."
"I intend to" Hoji said, "but I am, above all things, a warrior. I won't use dirty tricks to win this fight, just my sword and my muscles."
"Really?" Norbel said with disbelief. "I find it hard to believe that you can really stand up to me with those little sticks hanging from you shoulders."
"Tch" Hoji scoffed. He leaned his chin onto his fist and grinned a steely grin. "Your jokes are useless on me. Once I see someone worth killing, everything else takes a backseat. I'm not losing to you, prissy boy. Face it!"
"Hmm" Norbel hummed with a slight sense of seriousness. "You may be right. Only a real warrior would bother to walk around of his own accord with a head that bald." Hoji's angry vein clicked on. "Honestly, if I shaved my hair for only a partial boost of speed, I'd turn myself into the asylum!"
"I'M NOT BALD, GODAMMIT!" Hoji roared. He took his tight pigtail and held it in front of Norbel to see for his own eyes. "See? SEEEEEEEE!? I have hair, you ass-head!"
"Calm down!" Norbel said, getting very uncomfortable very quickly. "I see it, it's nice, just calm down!"
One calming sit down later, Hoji and Norbel were ready to face off in the small clearing. Hoji took his sword in revers grip at his side. His right leg was straight forward and his left was bent behind in respect to his opponent. His free, left hand was drawn up in a quasi-martial arts pose with his hand calmly palm down. His whole body slanted with his forward leg and his sword pointed up in its reverse grip. Norbel held his sword out in front like a fencer, with his other hand at face level away from his body and his feet together.
One of us is a better fighter than the other Hoji said sing-song in his head. Regardless what tricks he can pull here, I can still overpower him now that I know what he can do...
A second or two passed. The crashing and powerful blasts from outside echoed weakly up to the roof of the tower. Then an explosion occurred in the more local area. Norbel caught Hoji's charge with his sword. Hoji's whole body was thrown into the swing and sent his opponent through the trees. Hoji upped his guard drastically, knowing that an attack could come from anywhere at any time now. However, Norbel just walked casually out behind Hoji and raised his sword up again.
"Tch" Hoji scoffed again. He held his sword in normal, 'offense' grip and swung with enough force to send his whole body in a full spin. Norbel's sword went flying to his side but stayed in his hand. Then, as Hoji planted his feet on solid ground again, his sword came around again in its continuous circle path and swung heavily down. Norbel anticipated the danger and jumped out of the way, riding the current of terrible energy up into the highest reaches of the walled garden.
"From up here" Norbel said, "I can definitely get an upper hand! Hohoho! I made a joke!" As he laughed at his own arrogance, Hoji was already a step ahead of him.
"Senkou no Shikyou!" Hoji shot his had forward and let the red lightning rip through the air. It impacted on Norbel and sent him smoldering down through the air into the curious forest. A nagging pull in Hoji's head wanted him to enter to the dreaded magic garden, but his body held fast with his guarding grip equipped. "Where now, blondy?" Hoji growled tauntingly. A myriad of bright flashes came from all directions. Flying daggers were imminent, at this many with that much force would shatter Hoji's sword if not just tear apart his entire body.
"Hohoho!" Norbel laughed from the forest. "Spread across the skies, Tobimure!" His shikai took the form of throwing daggers that came into existence fluttering and spinning in the air before him. A whole armory worth of sharp, powerful knives that could pierce through nearly anything and rend apart anyone's body. "Let's see you survive that, you maniac man!"
"I told you" Hoji said from behind, "I'm a monster." Norbel frightfully turned around and saw Hoji sprawled out on a tree limb behind him. He was apathetically lounging back with his sword still tight in hand and hanging down. Norbel's noble exterior quickly faded and left a melted mess all over his face that resembled pure shock and confusion, complete with twitching eyelid.
"How...?" Norbel so elegantly asked.
"Easily" Hoji said, hopping down. "You know that ceaseless nagging that you get sometimes when you fight?" Norbel didn't respond. He just stood shock still, pointing a shaky finger at Hoji. "Well, I actually listened to it for once. It told me ti jump, then to fall just beyond the brush line and I was a few trees over back there. You know, I'm a little disappointed in this so-called magic forest. I thought every step would teleport you somewhere else, but it's just that one small area."
Norbel finally shook off the initial shock and faced Hoji down with a serious face again. "So, you've also figured out my true shikai as well?" he asked. Hoji paused for a bit, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, come on!" Norbel shouted.
Now that the tables had turned and his tricks were discovered, Norbel was in a spot. His knives were back, but he had to incant and release his sword again to use them successively, and with the monster lethargically staring him down just a yard away, he felt that he wouldn't succeed if he tried.
"I suppose our battle" Norbel began "has degenerated into a brutish sword fight after all."
Hoji tilted his head until it cracked and gave an apathetic "yup" in response. He rested his sword up on his shoulder and waited for something to happen from his opponent. Any subtle movement or glinting in his eye would give Hoji a chance to move as well, but nothing happened. Now that his main trick was dispelled, it seemed that Norbel had lost his will to fight. "You gonna fight at all?"
"But of course" Norbel said. "I'm not the same kind of fighter that you are. I'm a strategist. I don't just run forward swinging like a blind idiot, I calculate and plan before moving."
"Whatever" Hoji said. He drew his sword up high, which Norbel prepared to block over his head, and then he threw the sword at Norbel. It purposely sailed past hi, split a tree in half and rested lodged up to the hilt in another. "Let's make this a bit more interesting" Hoji offered. Norbel curiously lowered his weapon. "One free shot, and that's it. To make it a bit fair, I won't use my sword for my hit, and I'll tell you where I'm hitting you."
"Ho!" Norbel scoffed. "Are you so very sure of yourself that you would offer me a perfect chance to kill you here and now? Very well." Norbel twirled his sword around and drew it behind him at head level, an obvious thrusting pose. Hoji just crossed his arms and waited for the blow with a dark glower. Norbel dashed forward, sword ready, and stabbed. At the last possible second, Hoji's eyes went wide and a horrible pressure came from all sides. Hoji's aura had lifted and pushed the sword away from his head and let it glide past him. Norbel didn't wait for his body to hit against Hoji's and pulled back to his previous position, sheathing his sword in mid-air. He had to catch his breath from the immense pressure.
"Impressive" Norbel said, holding his terror to himself. Hoji smirked and scoffed at once. "Very well then, what shall you do?"
"A punch in the face" Hoji said, raising up his fist.
"That's it?" Norbel said. "Well...I've taken some serious injuries before. I suppose getting a little mark on my cheek to prove my sportiness will suffice. Fair enough. Come at me!" Norbel then took a stand with his fists on his hips and his legs firmly open to whatever blow Hoji had in mind.
"I intend to" Hoji growled. He drew back his fist for a hearty smash in his enemy's face and started running with a crouch. He would obviously do another semi-spinning, corckscrew attack like his vicious sword swing earlier. Norbel didn't worry. His training allowed him lightning-quick drawing skill. As soon as that fist started moving he would raise up his sword from the guard and let Hoji destroy his own hand. As Hoji ran forward, he started shouting with great animosity.
"PUNCH IN THAAA~~~" he roared. Norbel kept his smirk strong and adamant up until Hoji was a mere foot away from him. Then, with thunderous, sky-splitting force, Hoji finished with a quick and arrogant roar of "FACE!!!" and kicked Norbel in the crotch. It was a horrible, bone cracking kind of kick that you don't think you can survive if it goes between your legs, and Norbel had received all of it without any premonition or guard. His eyes bulged as time itself started to slow. The field goal, as it were, was perfect. When time resumed, Norbel fell to the ground writhing with high pitched shrieks in terrible pain. Meanwhile, Hoji casually paced over to his sword and retrieved it from its tree holster and placed it upon his shoulder.
"You...bastard...!" Norbel squeaked. Hoji turned an increment in his direction, not letting the shade from his devious brow give way to light. "That wasn't a punch at all!!!" There was a brief silence from Hoji as he prepared his rebuttal.
"Oh!?" Hoji grunted with fake surprise, tilting his head skyward and smiling a goofy smile. "You're right! It wasn't! GAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"You incomprehe...hensible jack-ass!" Norbel squealed, still holding his most-likely broken groin as Hoji reeled back and laughed mockingly. Then, Hoji's laughter trailed off at last into a long sigh.
"Alright" Hoji said, clapping his hands with his sword in the crease of his inner-elbow, "enough screwing around. Get up. Time to die."
"GAH!" Norbel exclaimed. Hoji's monstrous reputation wasn't just all bluster and noise, for he truly was a cruel monster when fighting. He takes no prisoners and has no mercy for his enemies, he is Hoji Araijin, the fierce warrior that fights by the king of death, Shin Kenpachi! "I hate you!!!" Norbel growled in a comically high-pitched guttural growl.
Tobimure: Bird Flock
